bil wrote:I use a 7.5 gallon pony keg, 30$ keg deposit is all it costs.
We only discuss legally procured kegs here... Forefeiting a deposit is not legal procurement... This has been discussed far too many times here so you should know this... You, sir, are a thief...!!!
I actually haven't come accross that yet in my reading as we designed our still based on a book and made adjustments for cost. I knew it may not have been entirely legal, but then again half the stills on here wouldn't be either. I always saw it as more of a gray area, much like this whole moonshining hobby . Fwiw I bought my 2 kegs from a friend, so I don't know he could have purchased them at full price...
But if I am reading your ...'s right and your overuse of emoticons as well I assuming there is some sarcasm there.
There is a difference between doing something morally wrong a braking the law. If I keep a keg by forfeiting my deposit, that's morally wrong. You are essentially stealing from the brewery. By promoting that behavior, you are promoting something that isn't moral. It cast a bad light on us all.
Distilling at home may be illegal, but you'd have a hard time convincing most people it's immoral. Something to think on.
bil wrote:I use a 7.5 gallon pony keg, 30$ keg deposit is all it costs.
We only discuss legally procured kegs here... Forefeiting a deposit is not legal procurement... This has been discussed far too many times here so you should know this... You, sir, are a thief...!!!
I actually haven't come accross that yet in my reading as we designed our still based on a book and made adjustments for cost. I knew it may not have been entirely legal, but then again half the stills on here wouldn't be either. I always saw it as more of a gray area, much like this whole moonshining hobby . Fwiw I bought my 2 kegs from a friend, so I don't know he could have purchased them at full price...
But if I am reading your ...'s right and your overuse of emoticons as well I assuming there is some sarcasm there.
There is a difference between doing something morally wrong a braking the law. If I keep a keg by forfeiting my deposit, that's morally wrong. You are essentially stealing from the brewery. By promoting that behavior, you are promoting something that isn't moral. It cast a bad light on us all.
Distilling at home may be illegal, but you'd have a hard time convincing most people it's immoral. Something to think on.
-Unicorn
I don't want to derail this topic, that is morally wrong, but everyone is talking about using pots made out of kegs, and BAP's, boilers etc. I am just as guilty as the rest I suppose, except for I merely called a spade a spade in my case instead of tip-toeing around the truth. trust me, it won't happen again...
Practically every still on this site is made using an old S/S keg. How many of them do we imagine were procured 100% legally for this 100% illegal hobby of ours, ladies?
rad14701 wrote:Not returning a keg and forfeiting the deposit is a far cry worse than not returning your pop can for the deposit... Just sayin...
Let's get back on topic... That horse is good and dead...!!!
I concur Rad it has been said enough!
Buy the ticket and ride the lightnin boys !!!
Impatience is the root of all bad things in my book of makin likker!
The sound of a thumper is the heart beat of the rebel" Warden Pappy"
Ok not to bring this back up, but I have seen a lot of people back and fourth on the forum say the tumper should be 1/4, some say 1/2 some say same size. I guess its gonna be up to me but lets say I have a 3 Gallon Pot and a 2 gallon pot will I be ok with the 2 gallon as the thumper, i mean its just going to take longer to start to boil right?
Or for example a 5 gallon and a 3 gallon. I mean its only 2 gallons less but its close enough right?
You should be just fine. As long as your thumper is %50 the size of your boiler go with it. People have just found different results with different sized thumpers related to their boilers.
BoisBlancBoy wrote:You should be just fine. As long as your thumper is %50 the size of your boiler go with it. People have just found different results with different sized thumpers related to their boilers.
To elaborate on what BBB says, the problem is the thumper being too small, rather than too big, so 3:2 should be absolutely fine.
Further, how long the thumper gets up to speed is largely down to how much liquid is in it.
Now, how much (and what) you put in it is part of the art/science/bullshit/wizardry of thumper use.
Last edited by Dan P. on Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
sltm1 wrote:Example (mine) :
7g boiler (only filled to five)
3g thumper
2 qt liquid in thumper (has an "L shaped bubbler along the bottom of the down pipe)
Ok the size of the thumper is more directly related to it filling up during a run.
If the thumper is to small. It can fill up and puke.
This will also be exaggerated by what is placed in the thumper. If you are adding ingredients that have a tendency to foam. Grains like rye and wheat or un fermented molasses. For example. It's just like boiler head space. You need enough for what you are working with. Or what you may work with.
But unless you want to build a thumper for each situation. You need to build it so it will universally work with any thing you want or may want to make.
This is why we say 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the boiler. And its a given that you should do the needed research to determine what's best for you.
If you are gona do just sugarheads and only add water or feints to the thumper. 1/2 the size of the boiler should be fine.
If you want to do AG ferments. And add some or all of the grains into the thumper. A thumper the same size as the boiler may be a better choice.
Just know anything smaller then half the boiler size. May fill up during a run. Any smaller and a drain back to the boiler may be needed. To insure it doesn't overflow.
If you truly understand how a thumper works. All of this would make perfect since. If it doesn't then you should research thumper theory until it does make since.
How does the amount of contact between the vapor and the thumper contents affect the final product?
In other words, is it like a plate in that different liquid depths may have different characteristics? Some people prefer a deep bath vs shallow?
Practically speaking, what would your predictions be if you took a thumper and halved the diameter while doubling the height?
I'd be subbing a tall skinny 7.75 gallon keg for a short fat 7.75 gallon keg.
all other things being equal, does contact with more liquid (wash, water, heads, applejuice, etc) produce a cleaner product or transfer more flavor from the thumper contents?
Where is Uncle J when U need him? I first started distilling about 2 years ago and found the info at this site so helpful I donated a few bucks. I started with a $200 2 gallon china made water pump cooling system rig. Then I moved to a 4 gallon stock pot rig. After a few runs the pot warped and I was losing more booze then I was making. A friend of mine that welds for a living and does a damn fine job at soldering helped me build a new air tight pot. He also helped me seal the leaks in my thumper. My thumper was easy to build. I used a 2 foot section of 3 inch copper tube. I cut and flattened a piece of 3/4 copper tubing for the top and bottom plate, soldered on the bottom plate then fit the top. Drilled 2 3/4 inch holes in the top plate then soldered the inlet/outlet tubes into place. It all sounds easy but solder drips if U get it too hot. Its a good thumper if U can get it right.
Prairiepiss wrote:Ok the size of the thumper is more directly related to it filling up during a run.
If the thumper is to small. It can fill up and puke.
This will also be exaggerated by what is placed in the thumper. If you are adding ingredients that have a tendency to foam. Grains like rye and wheat or un fermented molasses. For example. It's just like boiler head space. You need enough for what you are working with. Or what you may work with.
But unless you want to build a thumper for each situation. You need to build it so it will universally work with any thing you want or may want to make.
This is why we say 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the boiler. And its a given that you should do the needed research to determine what's best for you.
If you are gona do just sugarheads and only add water or feints to the thumper. 1/2 the size of the boiler should be fine.
If you want to do AG ferments. And add some or all of the grains into the thumper. A thumper the same size as the boiler may be a better choice.
Just know anything smaller then half the boiler size. May fill up during a run. Any smaller and a drain back to the boiler may be needed. To insure it doesn't overflow.
If you truly understand how a thumper works. All of this would make perfect since. If it doesn't then you should research thumper theory until it does make since.
Prairiepiss wrote:Ok the size of the thumper is more directly related to it filling up during a run.
If the thumper is to small. It can fill up and puke.
This will also be exaggerated by what is placed in the thumper. If you are adding ingredients that have a tendency to foam. Grains like rye and wheat or un fermented molasses. For example. It's just like boiler head space. You need enough for what you are working with. Or what you may work with.
But unless you want to build a thumper for each situation. You need to build it so it will universally work with any thing you want or may want to make.
This is why we say 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the boiler. And its a given that you should do the needed research to determine what's best for you.
If you are gona do just sugarheads and only add water or feints to the thumper. 1/2 the size of the boiler should be fine.
If you want to do AG ferments. And add some or all of the grains into the thumper. A thumper the same size as the boiler may be a better choice.
Just know anything smaller then half the boiler size. May fill up during a run. Any smaller and a drain back to the boiler may be needed. To insure it doesn't overflow.
If you truly understand how a thumper works. All of this would make perfect since. If it doesn't then you should research thumper theory until it does make since.
Mr. Piss I believe this should be sticked and locked sum where. Novice area maybe?? Well said.
welcome aboard some of us are ornery old coots but if you do a lot of
reading and don't ask stupid questions you'll be alright most are
big help
Dunder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTvG2KP_aUw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Its only about 1/5 the size of my pot but I have never had it fill up more than 2/3 of the way during a run. I guess I will find out just how good it works when I get my new pot up and running.
I am glad I found this thread as it will save me starting a new one on an old subject about the size of the thumper to pot size. I am getting the copper together to make a 24 gallon all copper pot still and am trying to decide how big to make my thumper. I currently have a 12 gallon boiler and 4 gallon thumper so that makes my thumper 33% of my boiler, and have not had a problem. So I started doing some math ( don't laugh Jimbo ). To make it easy to calculate I will start with a 10 gallon charge of 10% wash. That would give me 1 gallon of 100% ABV potential alcohol or 3 gallons of 33% average ABV. I will stop collecting at 20%. So the most my boiler is going to send to my thumper is roughly 3 gallons of liquid. Now the thumper is going to send a percentage of that to the condenser during the run so there should not be a problem with over filling the thumper unless you were to fill it half way with liquid before the run. When I do my runs with my present set up I charge the thumper with 1 1/2 quarts of the wash I am going to run and have never emptied more than 4 quarts of liquid out of it after the run. I am not promoting tiny thumpers but am thinking that a thumper that is 50% the size of the boiler is a safe bet. Since copper sheet is quite expensive I am probably going to build a 10 gallon thumper for it . I just don't see the need to match the boiler gallon for gallon. Am I missing something?
Corene, that sounds like a good plan. Some members here have started to size their thumper to the size of their boiler - Truckinbutch in particular. The idea being that they are capable of using the thumper to facilitate running a larger total charge. For example, you could charge a 15.5 gallon keg boiler with 10 or 12 gallons of wash and the thumper with another 6 gallons, or so, of the same wash.
Another advantage is that you could run on-the-grain ag washes by charging the thumper with the main wash and then charging the boiler with just water. This would accomplish a steam injection method of heating the grain wash without fear of scorching. With this method, there are some safety precautions you need to take - research here on the forums.
Anyway, if you're intending to use it in a traditional way, the size you proposed should be fine.
Good luck with the build.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
Would you consider a retrofit on your 12 gal boiler to be able to make it a thumper and a boiler? That would be a wonderful rig if it fits your ideas. I am sure what ever you do will be eye candy.
Thanks for the input . I never even thought about using the boiler as a steam unit to run the thumper. That is a really good idea. Also I was wanting to keep it an all copper unit and build it to look like an old style mountain still . I am building it for my friend George as a gift. He is setting up a display of old fashioned stills at his distillery and asked me about building an operational old fashioned still to do demonstrations with during his distillery tours and I wanted to make sure I didn't send him something that was not right. I wasn't sure if the thumper volume needed to change proportionally as size of the boiler went up and heat up time for thumper took longer.
I am actually pretty happy with my 12 gallon boiler, it is plenty big for what I need. I have jars of whiskey stashed from one end of my house to the other, about 14 gallons at last count. I am working on a plated column for it right now and I have the material to make a bigger pot to use for a mash pot or that I can set my 12 gallon still in and use for a double boiler for thick mashes, but I am going to have to investigate the steam injection method you had mentioned. There is always something to think about in this hobby.
Wish I could remember who started a thread about using it for steam injection. For safety, they included a pressure relief valve and a valve somewhere along the vapor path between the thumper input and the boiler to open up at the end of the run so that the vacuum created during cool down after the run doesn't suck all the spent wash out of the thumper into the boiler. This isn't to say that the valve controls the flow of vapor in any way - it would be on a tee within that path so that, when opened, it will suck air to the boiler instead of spent wash.
I think I remember that Piss also indicated that he has done this - you might check with him.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
This is one of the threads about using a thumper for steam injection - viewtopic.php?f=16&t=45884" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . The valve setup was in a different thread to do with steam cooking grains for mashing, but I don't see why the valves couldn't be used in a thumper setup as well. This is the thread describing the valves - viewtopic.php?f=83&t=50507" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow .
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
Am I missing something or would the only real advantage of running a still with steam injection be that you could run a thicker or dirty mash without running the risk of scorching? Possibly pull out more flavor?
Forefeiting a deposit is not legal procurement...
This has been discussed far too many times here so you should know this...
You, sir, are a thief...!!!
. Fwiw I bought my 2 kegs from a friend, so I don't know he could have purchased them at full price...
I have to say most excellent. 
